What It Means to Be Human
by SKRoberts
Summary: While on his mission to find his creator, Zeta has a very enlightening experience that changes his whole perspective on life. Check header info for more


Title: What It Means To Be Human  
Author: Sarah K. Roberts (S.K.Roberts)  
Main Character(s): Zee, Ro  
Date Completed: June 2002  
Category: Action, Drama  
Summary: While on his mission to find his creator, Zeta has a very enlightening experience that changes his whole perspective on life.  
Setting: Between "Kid Genius" and "Absolute Zero"  
Spoilers: Through "Kid Genius"

Disclaimer: This story is not meant to infringe on rights of Warner Bros. or anything else associated with _The Zeta Project_. This is not for profit and purely for enjoyment. All characters of _The Zeta Project_ were borrowed and then returned, unharmed and unchanged at the end, with their dignity intact. (All original characters belong to Sarah K. Roberts.) Any similarity between this story and an already existing fan fiction, is purely coincidental. Enjoy!

_**What It Means To Be Human**_

Ro and Zeta had been traveling for days. The lead on Dr. Selig at the current location had turned up nothing. They both had been searching for him for so long, they had forgotten the last time they took a break. Well, time for Ro, anyway. Zeta could practically go on forever. Since he was a synthoid, he needed no food or sleep, though he did occasionally like to completely shut down just to recharge he cells. On the other hand, Ro loved to take time for herself. She loved the luxurious hotels and such, all compliments of Zeta, of course. What else is one supposed to do with an unlimited cred card?! Much to the pair's dislike, their lives didn't consist of just searching and relaxing. Agent James Bennet was always on their trail.

Though Ro would have liked to be set up in a nice hotel, she and Zeta had to keep a low profile, for the news of the renegade synthoid and his human companion had traveled all across the United States of America.

"Nice place," Ro said almost sarcastically as she looked around the plain hotel room.

"It looks nice enough to me," Zee replied.

"That's the difference between humans and robots, Zee -- _we _have better taste," Ro said back. He had a befuddled look on his face when she looked at him. She couldn't tell if he was hurt by what she had said _or _if he was still trying to figure it out. "Oh, well. This will do for now. How about some eats?"

"I saw several restaurants as we came into town. Would you like me to get something for you?" Zee offered.

"That'd be great. Surprise me," Ro replied.

"In what way?" Zee said with a hint of confusion in his voice.

"Huh? _Oh_, never mind. I'll just come with you. There's _not _a lot to do in the hotel room," she said as she grabbed Zee's arm and pulled him out the door.

_AFTER LUNCH..._

The pair walked down the sidewalk, with Ro still sipping her beverage. "I think it's time for a nap," she said.

"Maybe I should go to the Ground Wire to see if I can find anything on Dr. Selig," Zee said.

"Okay. You do that while I get some sleep," Ro said.

Zee had fully intended to go to the Ground Wire, but he got distracted by all of the sights around the city. He was admiring the architecture of a building when he heard someone in distress. He looked around quickly and soon found an elderly woman in an alley, struggling with some groceries. "May I help you with those, ma'am?" he asked politely.

"Thank you, young man," she said as he bent down to pick up some items that had fallen from the bags. Zee was so concerned with them that he didn't even notice the woman take something out of her pocket. Suddenly, Zee yelled out in pain as a kaleidoscope of electricity engulfed him, rendering him unconscious. His holo-morphic processors quickly shut off.

"Good work," a man in the shadows said to the woman. She pushed a button on a wristwatch-like cuff on her arm, making her quickly morph back to her true form as a small, young woman with long black hair. She looked down at Zeta's still form and frowned, unhappy with what she had done.

"If he's _still _at the Ground Wire, I'm gonna kill him," Ro said out loud to herself as she walked down the sidewalk. Zee had been gone for far too long, and it was getting dark outside. After checking the cafe with no luck, she began to get a little worried. "Where on Earth is he? It's not like him to just go off somewhere and not tell me." She went back to the hotel to see if she had just missed him returning.

Zee walked along slowly as he passed by the dark buildings. It was night now, but he couldn't remember how he had gotten to where he was when he had woken up. He could only vaguely remember what had happened. Since the time he woke up, he had the most unusual feeling inside of him, something he had never felt before. He was a synthoid. He doesn't get sick... does he? He didn't know what to make of what he was feeling. Pressing on, he tried his best to find his way back to the hotel.

Ro quickly climbed the stairs to her floor. "They aren't here, Sir," the all-too-familiar voice of Agent Orin West said, coming from her room. Ro quickly stopped in her tracks.

"They'll be back sometime. We'll be ready," yet another familiar voice said. It was Bennet!

She hurried back down the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible. She was barely out of the door of the hotel when she collided with someone. For a few seconds, she thought she had been caught by one of Bennet's agents, but at a quick glance, she realized it was Zee.

"Where have you been?!" she asked loudly. "Never mind! Bennet's upstairs. We have to get out of here!" she said quickly, grabbing Zee and pulling him along after her.

"But Ro--" he tried to say, but she didn't have a chance to listen.

At that exact moment, Agent West looked out of the window. "There they are!" he yelled out.

Zee and Ro quickly ducked into an alley. "Quick, Zee, change!" Ro said. He concentrated on a specific appearance... but nothing happened. "What are you waiting for?!" Ro asked, nearly hysterical.

"Something is wrong. My holo-morphic processors aren't working!" he said quickly.

"What?! But this hologram's working," Ro questioned. "Where have you been?!"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you. Something happened to me. I can't remember what it was, but I can tell that I've been offline for most of the day!" Zee said, bordering on excitement.

Ro didn't know what to say. This was not good. "Don't worry, Zee. We'll find out what happened." Suddenly, she noticed something odd as her hand rested on Zee's shoulder. It was a fairly cold night... but he was warm. His titanium frame should be cold to the touch. "Zee," she said, about to comment on it when she heard a trashcan topple over. She looked toward the street quickly and knew it could only be West. "Let's get out of here!" Ro said to Zee, setting her discovery aside until later.

"There they are!" Agent Marcia Lee said to her commander.

Zee and Ro hurried away. Bennet and his agents quickly followed.

After turning a few corners and ducking in and out of shadows, the duo got trapped in a dead end street. Knowing that Bennet would soon find them, Zee shoved Ro into one of the buildings. "Stay here!"

"Zee, what are you doing?!" Ro asked as loudly as she possibly could without shouting. She looked out of the dirty window at Zee; he had taken shelter behind some trashcans opposite the building. There he crouched until he heard footsteps approach. Carefully peeking around the cans, he could see that the feet belonged to Bennet and Lee, with the other agents nearby, ready to jump in if needed. Zee took hold of one of the trashcans, ready to throw it. Suddenly, the strange feeling he had been feeling intensified, making him lose his concentration momentarily. His hand slipped, making the can move slightly, sending out a small, but noticeable screech.

"Come out now, Zeta!" Bennet yelled out, turning his attention to the cans. Zee knew he had to protect Ro, even through his confusion over what he was feeling. He quickly got up and bolted away from Bennet, though he knew it was toward a dead end. "Hold it!" Bennet yelled. He got Zee in his sights and fired his pulse weapon. The blast hit Zee square in his back, bringing him to his knees. He quickly fell over on his stomach, unconscious.

"No. Please no!" Ro said out loud to herself as she peered through the window at what was happening. This was very bad.

"Secure that synthoid," Bennet said to his agents.

As Lee bent down to cuff Zee's hands, she noticed something was amiss. "Sir, why hasn't the hologram shut itself off?" Usually, when Zeta goes offline or is struck with a large electrical force, the hologram shuts off to conserve energy, but now, it hadn't done so.

"It must be some sort of malfunction," Bennet said as he bent down.

"Sir, look!" she said, pointing to Zee's face. There was a small trickle of blood dripping from his nose. The stress of a blast like that would cause any _human's _nose to bleed, but Zee was a robot. Robots don't bleed! "Sir, this isn't Zeta! He's bleeding!" Lee said frantically.

"But he looks just like Zeta's human hologram," Bennet said.

"Synthoids don't bleed, Sir! We've made a mistake. We should take him to the medical center."

Ro looked on as they carried Zee to a transport. She was speechless. What she just saw was hard to believe, but it was true. Zee was bleeding. _How can that be possible?_ she asked herself nonstop. Could Zee have been hiding something from here all this time? Or could it perhaps be related to when he went missing earlier? Ro didn't know and didn't have much time to think about it. She just knew she had to follow Bennet and somehow get Zeta back. _At least Bennet thinks he made a mistake _she thought. _Maybe I can get Zee away from him before he finds out that it really is Zeta._

"Agent Bennet, this is highly reprehensible!" a representative from the NSA officials yelled out. "You can't just go around and shoot people because they might be the renegade robot! You could have killed that young man!"

"Sir, he was seen with the same girl Zeta travels with, so it was a fair bet that he was Zeta! _And _he ran from us like he was Zeta." Bennet defended himself. "I admit I made a mistake. Will he be okay?" Bennet was sincere in his question. He motioned toward the door to The Young Man's hospital room. Though he desperately wanted to get Zeta into custody, he never wanted to harm anyone in the process.

"He's still unconscious, but the doctors say he should wake up soon. If you hadn't brought him in immediately, I don't want to think about what might have happened," the official said.

The whole conversation outside the door was being muffled by the door, but could still be heard, just barely. Unknown to those outside, Zee was actually awake. He tried to hear their conversation, but his superhuman hearing wasn't working. He felt almost deaf. In addition, the strange feeling inside of him now had a companion: pain. It was all-to-familiar to humans, but incredibly foreign to robots. Zee didn't understand what was happening. He didn't even know that one of the voices he was hearing belonged to Bennet.

"Let me know when he wakes up," Bennet said to the doctor attending The Young Man.

"I will," the doctor replied. As Bennet walked away, a young red-haired nurse passed him. "Nurse, could you keep an eye on the patient in this room? As soon as he wakes up, come find me."

"Yes, doctor," the young girl said back. She quietly opened the door as the doctor walked away. Once he was clear out of view, she hurried over to Zee.

"Zee, are you awake?!" she asked with a loud whisper. Zee groaned. He wanted to speak, but the weakness in his body was making it hard. "Come on, Zee. Please wake up."

He managed to work up enough strength. "Ro? Is that you?" he said to the familiar blonde-haired... uh, red-haired girl. "You changed your hair."

"It's called a disguise, Zee. Come on, we have to get out of here. Bennet is close by."

"Bennet?! But if Bennet is here, why hasn't he taken me back to NSA headquarters?! Why am I here?" he asked. Suddenly something dawned on him. "Where is _here_?"

"You're in a hospital," she said.

"Hospital? Why? I'm a synthoid. I don't need medical attention," he said.

"Zee, I'm not sure you _are _a synthoid... at least not anymore! And whether you need medical attention or not, we have to get out of here. I'll explain everything later," she said, though she knew she had no explanation. "Do you think you can walk?"

"I will try," he said, pulling back the covers.

"Hold on a sec," Ro said, hurrying over to the closet. She found what she hoped to find: Zee's clothes. "Put these on." Strange. She had never handed him clothes before. He never had the need.

Ro couldn't help but look at Zee as they walked down the hallway. He looked so strange. She had never seen him in that kind of condition. Sure, he had been damaged more times than she cared to remember, but he was a machine, able to heal himself quickly. Now...? She wasn't sure what he was or if he'd heal himself at all, but she vowed to get to the bottom of what was happening. Suddenly, Zee started to sway slightly. "Are you okay?!" she asked quickly as she grabbed onto his waist to keep him from falling over.

"I don't know. I have never felt this way before," he said back weakly.

"I don't think you're going to make it out of here on your own power. Wait here," she said, propping him on the wall. She quickly returned with a wheelchair. Once Zee was secured, she hurried him out of the front door. "Whew! I thought we'd never get out of there!" After getting a few blocks from the hospital, Ro wheeled Zee into an alley. _Strange _she thought to herself. _We sure spend a lot of time in alleys._ After getting out of her disguise, Ro crouched down next to the wheelchair so she could look at Zee face to face. "Zee, you look terrible. Maybe I shouldn't have taken you away from the hospital."

"I trust you did what you thought was best," Zee said.

Ro smiled at how much faith he had in her. "Let's get a room somewhere so you can rest."

It took a while to find a room they could afford. Zee no longer had his unlimited cred card, and Ro only had a little money on her. She had _borrowed_ it from some rich-looking man in the hospital.

She carefully helped Zee out of the wheelchair and onto the bed. "You get some rest," she whispered to him. He didn't resist.

Ro had dozed off while watching over Zee.

"Ro, wake up! Please, get up!" she thought she heard someone say. Quickly, she realized it was Zee calling for her, and her eyes popped open.

"Zee, what's wrong?!" she asked as she hurried over to him.

"There is a loud noise coming from my chest," he said, urging her to listen.

She gently put her head on his chest and listened. After only seconds, she knew what it was. "Zee, that's your heart."

"My heart?" he pondered. "So that's what one feels like. But... Why is it speeding up?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"I have listened to it beat," he said sitting up. "When I first woke up, it was much slower. It has sped up considerably since."

"I'm no doctor, Zee, but that can't be good," she said. "What happened to you?!"

All of a sudden, Zee's vision blurred, and he became dizzy. "Ro, something is wrong."

"Just lay back down! I'll go get some help!" she said, almost frantic. She hurried out the door but was abruptly halted by someone.

When Zee saw Ro reenter the room, he became worried. Then he saw someone aiming a weapon at her. "Ro!" he yelled in excitement and fear as he nearly leaped out of bed. He grabbed the gun and pinned its handler to the wall. Soon, he realized that it was a young woman.

"Please, don't hurt me! I'm only here to help!" the woman said, still pinned to the wall.

"How do you expect to help us with a gun?" Ro asked her quickly.

"I wasn't going to use it! I just needed to get your attention!" she pleaded.

"What do you want?" Zee asked.

"I know who you are," she said to him. He barely had time to make a curious face before he became weak and crumpled to the floor. Ro did her best to catch him. "Oh, no. It's already started. I didn't think it would be so soon."

"What's started?! What did you do to him?!" Ro asked forcefully.

"I didn't do it to him. But I helped the man who did," she said. "Your friend is dying."

"W-what?! But he's a robot. He can't die!" Ro said, tightening her arms around Zee, afraid to let him go.

"He's not a robot anymore. He is almost fully human, but... his life force... his soul, if you will, was not meant to be in a human body. And because of something my father did, he will die -- unless you both come with me."

"Why should we trust you?" Ro asked.

"Because I'm telling you the truth! Please don't let your friend die because you don't trust me!"

"I think we should listen to her," Zee said weakly. Ro looked into his grey-blue eyes. She never realized how beautiful they were. But now she could see the life slipping out of them.

"All right, we'll do it. But only because he agreed," Ro said.

Ro and the strange woman help Zee off the floor and quickly left the motel. Time was running out.

They helped Zee into a large building. As they entered one of the large rooms, someone spoke, "Ah, Lana, you found him."

"Yes, father. He is very weak. We must act quickly," the not-so mysterious woman said.

"Father?" Ro said out loud, looking through the shadows to find who was speaking.

"Yes, young lady. And you're Rosalie Rowan," The Voice said.

"H-how do you know me?" Ro asked.

"Actually, I know a lot about you... and Zeta. That's why I chose him," The Voice said.

"Chose him for what?!"

"To know what it means to be human," The Voice answered as he walked from the shadows. He was a tall man with greying black hair and mustache, and glasses were perched on his nose. "I'm Dr. Tom Montgomery. I have been following you two in the news for a long time. I quickly learned that Zeta was not what the NSA thinks him to be. He's _not _a killer. He just wants to be left alone. The only way I thought that could happen was if he was human, flesh and blood like you and me." He began to walk away. "Follow me."

Ro hesitated for a moment, but soon followed. Her concern for Zee was pitted against her curiosity. Soon, the large lights in the room flickered on.

"Here. Sit him on the table," Dr. Montgomery said.

Ro looked at Zee. He nodded to tell her it was all right to do so.

"For the past several years," he began, directing his attention to Zee, "I have been trying to perfect a synthetic human body, but I could never figure out a way to create a human mind. When I saw you in the news, I knew you would be the best test subject, and, if everything went as planned, you would no longer have to run from the NSA." He turned his attention to a large, complicated machine. "After I had created a body that looked like your hologram of choice -- since you seemed to picture yourself that way if you _were _human -- I set up the machine to reconfigure your personality into it. You know, re-mapping brain waves and thought patterns isn't that difficult, but can be very dangerous for a real human. I didn't want to take that risk. Since you were a synthoid, there was almost no risk to you."

"How did you find out we were in town?" Ro asked.

"That information about Dr. Eli Selig being in town was false, planted by me. I knew you would eventually find it and come here."

"How did you get Zee in this room to do... whatever it was you did?"

"A clever little deception by my daughter. I do apologize for having to use such lengths, but I had little time before Bennet was sure to show up."

"What's wrong with me?" Zee asked Dr. Montgomery.

"Something unexpected happened. I didn't think the body I made would reject your consciousness. It wasn't until after the procedure and your release that I found the problem after a blood test. Your _soul_, essentially, is too powerful to be contained in a body of flesh and blood."

"What does that mean?!" Ro asked in a worried voice,

"It means that the body I made will shut down. I didn't think it would happen so fast. Believe me, I never would have done this to you if I knew what might happen."

"So... what? Now Zee just _dies_?!" Ro asked loudly, unsure what to think of it all.

"There is one chance. I could try to put your personality back into your titanium body, but you are very weak. I'm not sure if you'd survive," he explained slowly.

"By what you're telling me, he's going to die if you _don't _do anything. At least this gives him a chance!" Ro said. She turned her attention to Zee. He looked so frail. She wanted the old Zee back. She wanted Zeta. "Zee, it's up to you."

Zee tried to think about it amidst the pain in his head. "I've just found out what it feels like to be human, like you," he said to Ro. "It's a shame to leave it so soon, but I guess it is time to go back to they way I was. The way I was meant to be. Try your best, Dr. Montgomery."

"We must hurry," the Doc said.

Ro carefully helped Zee into the standing compartment as Dr. Montgomery secured the lifeless synthoid into an identical compartment. "I need to strap you in," the Doc said to Zee. "I don't know how this will effect you, so I don't want you to hurt yourself or something like that."

"I understand," Zee replied. As the Doc walked away to see to the controls, Zee noticed the worried look in Ro's eyes.

"Zee, I can't help but feel that this might be the last time I see you," she said to him, solemnly.

"Everything will be all right," Zee replied. "But... if it doesn't work out, you have to do something for me. I don't want to be reprogrammed to kill again; you know that. Don't let Bennet find my synthoid body. You have to destroy it."

"But, Ze--" Ro began but was interrupted.

"No buts. Please... Promise me!" Zee pleaded.

There was nothing else she could do. She didn't want Zee to become a killer as much as he didn't want to be a killer. "I promise."

"The machine is ready," Dr. Montgomery said.

Lana walked over to the two. "It would be safer if you watched from over here," she said to Ro.

"Good luck, Zee," she said, giving him a big hug. Then Lana gently took Ro's arm and led her to the control panel.

"Are you ready?" the Doc asked. Zee nodded affirmatively. The Doc returned a nod, then flicked a few switches on the panel. The machine made a slight whining sound as it began its job. The lights dimmed slightly. As Ro watched nervously, she began to see tiny, static-like electrical charges pop up ever now and then. As it progressed, the charged became bigger and bigger. Zee clearly looked uncomfortable.

"How much longer will this take?" Ro asked.

"I'm not sure. It took nearly five minutes last time. We just have to wait," Dr. Montgomery replied.

Soon, the bolt-like charges became very large, surrounding Zee and brightening the room. He had a horrible look on his face, like he was in a lot of pain. Ro wanted to run to him so badly and comfort him as much as she could. Zee yelled out harshly, making Ro jump. She tried to run over to him, but Lana grabbed her. "It's too dangerous for you!"

"_But he's in pain!_" Ro said loudly over the noise of the machine.

"It's too much for him! I have to shut it down!" Dr. Montgomery said. After a few switches were flicked, the bolts surrounding Zee ceased. The whole room darkened again. Ro looked over at Zee. He wasn't moving.

"Zee!" she said with worry as she hurried over to him. Dr. Montgomery and Lana quickly followed. "Is he okay?!" Ro asked franticly. Zee was slouched against one side of the compartment.

Dr. Montgomery put his fingers on Zee's neck. "I-I can't find a pulse!" he said.

"What?! No... Please, no!" Ro said loudly as she put her own fingers to his neck. No matter how hard she tried to find a pulse -- even a slight one -- there wasn't one to be found. "Oh, Zee," Ro said sadly, her eyes brimming with tears. She put her head to his chest, but the absence of a heartbeat only made her cry more.

Out of view of the others, the titanium synthoid's eyes flickered on. They looked around, sort of dazed.

"Ro?"

"Zee?!" she questioned, looking at Zee's blank face, looking for some sign.

Zeta grabbed the strap that was holding him in the compartment and snapped through it, then stepped away from the machine. The noise of his actions tore Ro's eyes from Zee's face. She saw Zeta standing there, looking at her. Dr. Montgomery and Lana were astonished. "Zee?" Ro questioned again.

Zeta's holo-morphic processors quickly came on in the form of Zee. "Zee! I can't believe it! You're alive!" Ro said loudly, running over to him. "I thought I'd lost you for good," she said hugging him.

"Wow... It worked," Dr. Montgomery said to himself out loud as he walked up to Ro and Zee. "I guess your personality was fully transferred before I shut the machine off. How do you feel?"

"I feel," Zee thought, "...like me." He smiled. That's all that needed to be said.

The next day, Zee and Ro were on the road again in search of Dr. Selig. As they drove along, Ro noticed that Zee seemed a little distant. There was something she couldn't identify in his grey-blue, hologram eyes.

"Zee, is something wrong? Are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Oh, uh," he said coming out of his thoughts. "It's just that I never thought I would ever be human, even for a little while. It is so different from being a synthoid."

"Well, sometimes it has its perks," she said, trying to lighten his mood.

"I wish I could have had more time to learn what it means to be human," he said.

"Being flesh and blood doesn't _make _you human. Your actions and who you are make you human, no matter what you're made from. With that said, I think you were human longer than you realized... and you still are," Ro said profoundly.

Zee smiled. She was right.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked.

"Yes. I think I will be just fine," he said. _Just fine _he said to himself.

**THE END**


End file.
